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Member Heads Up

Online Service Message for all CPA Members and StudentsThe delivery of online services for members of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia will soon be transitioning to a new unified service model.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015, the Board of Governors of the Certified General Accountants Association of British Columbia passed several amendments to the Association’s Bylaws.

Bylaw B114 was amended to ensure that members are not unreasonably penalized for late payment of member dues which are now due and payable at the year’s busiest time for accountants. A parallel change was also made to the board policy regarding late payment of public practice fees.

Bylaw B101 was amended to aid, until such time as CPABC legislation is enacted, in the timely processing of both offshore and onshore Mutual Recognition Agreement (“MRA”) applications (noting that CGA-BC will become responsible for processing offshore MRA applications starting on April 1, 2015, in addition to the onshore applicant files it has traditionally managed).

Good news for all CGA-BC members who are also members of either ICABC or CMABC: Starting this spring, you only have to pay dues to one organization.

As a member of CGA-BC and one of the two other legacy organizations in the CPABC joint venture — ICABC and CMABC— you are now only required to pay one set of dues to renew your memberships through to March 31, 2015. Not only will you continue to receive benefits from all of the organizations, but you will also gain access to any enhanced services made available through the merger.

In addition, CGA-Canada has agreed to waive its national dues for dual designated members this year.

If you are CGA and CMA, your CMABC dues will be your only dues payable. CMABC’s notice of dues was sent out on April 3, 2014. If you are a CGA and CA, your ICABC dues will be your only dues payable. ICABC’s notice of dues was sent out on April 4, 2014. In either case, any updates to your CGA-BC membership record will need to be submitted to CGA-BC separately.

If you haven’t already done so, please let our Registrar know if you are a member of one (or both) of the other two accounting bodies.

CMABC, ICABC, and CGA-BC are integrating operations. However, until legislation passes and the Accountants (Chartered Professional) Act is established in BC, you will still need to comply with each organization’s rules and regulations, including professional development reporting. In accordance with freedom of information requirements, your membership records will be maintained separately and you will need to continue to notify your designations’ organizations of any changes.

CPA Professional Education Program FacilitatorsBecome a facilitator for the CPA Professional Education ProgramWe need facilitators to guide candidates through the CPA Professional Education Program. Facilitators review and provide feedback on candidate module assignments, and are expected to respond to candidate questions in a timely manner. Anyone who holds a professional accounting designation (CA/CGA/CMA), has an undergraduate degree, and who is interested in accounting education is invited to apply to the facilitator training program, which includes a one-day, in person training session and several online training activities. Please note, participants in the facilitator training program will not receive payment for participating in or travelling to the training.

See CPA Today for member news, accounting resources, information on upcoming event, updates on the unification process, and more.

Rotary Club Celebrates 100 Years in BCThe Rotary Club of Vancouver invites you to celebrate 100 years of Rotary in B.C. with a cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, live entertainment, and a keynote address by Stephen Lewis.

Join the Rotarians on April 20, 2013. The evening begins at 6:00 pm with reception followed by a sumptuous four-course dinner. You’ll hear from internationally renowned speaker Stephen Lewis. Stephen Lewis is arguably Canada's most tenacious and persistent advocate for social justice and one of our greatest humanitarians.

His list of causes is long and daunting: human rights abuses, the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, gender inequality, civil liberties, poverty and homelessness at home and abroad, children in armed conflict, global warming, and access to healthcare in the developing world. The former leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and Canada’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Lewis has received dozens of awards and honours from governments and professional organizations and 37 honorary degrees from universities.

Partial proceeds from this event will go to support the 100th Anniversary Legacy Project, the expansion of St. Paul’s Hospital’s Rotary Hearing Clinic.

Mission CGA Ron Leger has long felt good about donating to the local food bank; now he’s working hard to share that feeling. He’s leading a fundraising team to bring in the last $130,000 to complete the construction of the new St. Joseph’s Food Bank building, and he’s involved everyone from the mayor, MLA’s and the local Archbishop to the Abbotsford Heat, area pubs, grocery stores, other merchants and service clubs to his cause.

“The work the food bank and its volunteers do is awesome, it is such a good cause,” said Ron. “I enjoy helping out the community and I like how that donations to the food bank goes straight to feeding those who need help.”

An all-party special committee of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia has been mandated to unanimously recommend to the Legislative Assembly the appointment of an Auditor General for the Province of British Columbia.

The Auditor General is the Legislative Assembly’s independent auditor and conducts financial and performance audits in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles and assurance standards. The Auditor General audits the provincial government reporting entity, which consists of ministries, Crown corporations and other government organizations such as school districts, universities, colleges and health authorities. The Auditor General reports to the Legislative Assembly on all matters and appears regularly before the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

The Auditor General leads a staff of 115 professionals and is appointed for a six-year term, and may be reappointed for a second term.

Resumes should be received by fax, by email or by mail at the office of Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Committees, no later than Friday, January 25, 2013.

Advance Your Career

Make the most of your leadership potential and take your career to the senior executive level. Check out the CGA-BC Certificate in Executive Leadership—where leaders are made. Learn all you need to know about this exciting opportunity here.

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